Search

Washington's Eighth Grade Standards

WA.1. Ealr / Domain: CIVICS

The student understands and applies knowledge of government, law, politics, and the nation's fundamental documents to make decisions about local, national, and international issues and to demonstrate thoughtful, participatory citizenship.

1.1. Component / Goal:

Understands key ideals and principles of the United States, including those in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other fundamental documents.

1.1.1. Benchmark / Gle: IDEALS & PRINCIPLES

Understands key ideals and principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the U.S. Constitution, including the rule of law, separation of powers, representative government, and popular sovereignty, and the Bill of Rights, including due process and freedom of expression.

1.1.2. Benchmark / Gle: APPLICATION OF IDEALS & PRINCIPLES

Evaluates efforts to reduce discrepancies between key ideals and reality in the United States including:

1.1.2.a. Grade Level Expectation:

How amendments to the Constitution have sought to extend rights to new groups; and

1.1.2.b. Grade Level Expectation:

How key ideals and constitutional principles set forth in fundamental documents relate to public issues.

1.2. Component / Goal:

Understands the purposes, organization, and function of governments, laws, and political systems.

1.2.1. Benchmark / Gle: STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT

Understands and analyzes the structure and powers of government at the national level.

1.2.2. Benchmark / Gle: FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT

Evaluates the effectiveness of the system of checks and balances in the United States based on an event.

1.2.3. Benchmark / Gle: FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

Understands that the U.S. government includes concepts of both a democracy and a republic.

1.3. Component / Goal:

Understands the purposes and organization of international relationships and United States foreign policy.

1.3.1. Benchmark / Gle: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Analyzes how the United States has interacted with other countries in the past or present.

1.4. Component / Goal:

Understands civic involvement.

1.4.1. Benchmark / Gle: CIVIC INVOLVEMENT

Analyzes how a position on an issue attempts to balance individual rights and the common good.

WA.2. Ealr / Domain: ECONOMICS

The student applies understanding of economic concepts and systems to analyze decision-making and the interactions between individuals, households, businesses, governments, and societies.

2.1. Component / Goal:

Understands that people have to make choices between wants and needs and evaluate the outcomes of those choices.

2.1.1. Benchmark / Gle: ECONOMIC CHOICES

Analyzes examples of how groups and individuals have considered profit and personal values in making economic choices in the past or present.

2.2. Component / Goal:

Understands how economic systems function.

2.2.1. Benchmark / Gle: ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

Analyzes how the forces of supply and demand have affected the production, distribution, and consumption of goods, services, and resources in the United States in the past or present.

2.2.2. Benchmark / Gle: TRADE

Understands and analyzes how the forces of supply and demand have affected international trade in the United States in the past or present.

2.3. Component / Goal:

Understands the government's role in the economy.

2.3.1. Benchmark / Gle: GOVERNMENT AND THE ECONOMY

Understands and analyzes the influence of the U.S. government's taxation, creation of currency, and tariffs in the past or present.

2.4. Component / Goal:

Understands the economic issues and problems that all societies face.

2.4.1. Benchmark / Gle: ECONOMIC ISSUES

Understands and analyzes the distribution of wealth and sustainability of resources in the United States in the past or present.

WA.3. Ealr / Domain: GEOGRAPHY

The student uses a spatial perspective to make reasoned decisions by applying the concepts of location, region, and movement and demonstrating knowledge of how geographic features and human cultures impact environments.

3.1. Component / Goal:

Understands the physical characteristics, cultural characteristics, and location of places, regions, and spatial patterns on the Earth's surface.

Understands and analyzes physical and cultural characteristics of places and regions in the United States from the past or in the present.

3.2. Component / Goal:

Understands human interaction with the environment.

3.2.1. Benchmark / Gle: HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION

Analyzes how the environment has affected people and how people have affected the environment in the United States in the past or present.

3.2.2. Benchmark / Gle: CULTURE

Understands cultural diffusion in the United States from the past or in the present.

3.2.3. Benchmark / Gle: HUMAN MIGRATION

Understands and analyzes migration as a catalyst for the growth of the United States in the past or present.

3.3. Component / Goal:

Understands the geographic context of global issues and events.

3.3.1. Benchmark / Gle: GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT OF GLOBAL ISSUES

Understands that learning about the geography of the United States helps us understand the global issue of diversity.

WA.4. Ealr / Domain: HISTORY

The student understands and applies knowledge of historical thinking, chronology, eras, turning points, major ideas, individuals, and themes in local, Washington State, tribal, United States, and world history in order to evaluate how history shapes the present and future.

4.1. Component / Goal:

Understands historical chronology.

4.1.2. Benchmark / Gle: CHRONOLOGICAL ERAS

Understands how the following themes and developments help to define eras in U.S. history from 1776 to 1900:

4.1.2.a. Grade Level Expectation:

Fighting for independence and framing the Constitution (1776 - 1815).

4.1.2.b. Grade Level Expectation:

Slavery, expansion, removal, and reform (1801 - 1850).

4.1.2.c. Grade Level Expectation:

Civil War and Reconstruction (1850 - 1877).

4.1.2.d. Grade Level Expectation:

Development and struggles in the West, industrialization, immigration, and urbanization (1870 - 1900).

4.2. Component / Goal:

Understands and analyzes causal factors that have shaped major events in history.

4.2.1. Benchmark / Gle: INDIVIDUALS AND MOVEMENTS

Understands and analyzes how individuals and movements have shaped U.S. history (1776 - 1900).

4.2.2. Benchmark / Gle: CULTURES AND CULTURAL GROUPS

Understands and analyzes how cultures and cultural groups have contributed to U.S. history (1776 - 1900).

4.2.3. Benchmark / Gle: IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGY

Understands and analyzes how technology and ideas have impacted U.S. history (1776 - 1900).

4.3. Component / Goal:

Understands that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of historical events.

4.3.1. Benchmark / Gle: HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

Analyzes and interprets historical materials from a variety of perspectives in U.S. history (1776 - 1900).

4.3.2. Benchmark / Gle: MULTIPLE CAUSATION

Analyzes multiple causal factors to create positions on major events in U.S. history (1776 - 1900).

4.4. Component / Goal:

Uses history to understand the present and plan for the future.

4.4.1. Benchmark / Gle: HISTORICAL ANTECENDENTS

Analyzes how a historical event in U.S. history helps us to understand a current issue.

WA.5. Ealr / Domain: SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS

The student understands and applies reasoning skills to conduct research, deliberate, form, and evaluate positions through the processes of reading, writing, and communicating.

5.1. Component / Goal:

Uses critical reasoning skills to analyze and evaluate positions.

5.1.1. Benchmark / Gle: UNDERSTANDS REASONING

Understands reasons based on evidence for a position on an issue or event.

5.1.2. Benchmark / Gle: EVALUATES REASONING

Evaluates the logic of reasons for a position on an issue or event.

5.2. Component / Goal:

Uses inquiry-based research.

5.2.1. Benchmark / Gle: FORMS QUESTIONS

Creates and uses research questions that are tied to an essential question to focus inquiry on an issue.

5.2.2. Benchmark / Gle: ANALYZES SOURCES

Evaluates the logic of positions in primary and secondary sources to interpret an issue or event.

5.3. Component / Goal:

Deliberates public issues.

5.3.1. Benchmark / Gle: DELIBERATION

Applies key ideals outlined in fundamental documents to clarify and address public issues in the context of a discussion.

5.4. Component / Goal:

Creates a product that uses social studies content to support a thesis and presents the product in an appropriate manner to a meaningful audience.

5.4.1. Benchmark / Gle: CREATES POSITION AND PRODUCT

Uses sources within the body of the work to support positions in a paper or presentation.

5.4.2. Benchmark / Gle: CITING SOURCES

Uses appropriate format to cite sources within an essay or presentation.

The content of this website does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.